In Loving Memory Of
by E Salvatore
Summary: At some point during the making of Ragnarok, Taika Waititi meant for Thor to have a tattoo that said "Loki RIP". This is the story behind that tattoo. Relevant information: Asgardian mead was involved (of course), it was all Tony's idea (as usual), and Clint keeps a tattoo gun in his room at all times (who knows why). Set post-Age of Ultron, pre-Phase 3.


There's a reason Natasha never joins the guys when they break out the Asgardian mead, but Steve is about _thismuch_ too drunk to recall what that reason is.

Maybe it's the arm wrestling that takes up the entire first hour of the evening, and the enthusiastic _CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!_ Clint and Stark start chanting when Steve loses to Thor and is presented with a tankard full of mead.

Maybe it's the stupid dares and destructive ideas they come up with in their second hour, like Tony asking Thor to summon Mjolnir from his suite three floors away just to see how the hammer would get there. (Mjolnir takes the most direct path, leaving matching holes in all three floors it crashed through on its way to Thor.)

But by the third hour they've mostly calmed down, and really, Natasha's missing out on a pretty great evening and some incredible mead. Tony and Clint are sprawled out on opposite sofas, mead sloshing from their overfilled tankards as they trade witty barbs back and forth. Steve himself is standing by the window, taking in the sights of the city at night; everything's spinning just the tiniest bit, but the carousel effect only makes the city that much more _alive_ , as if it's living and breathing and bustling about just like its inhabitants.

And Thor…

Thor is…

"Oh, shit," Steve mutters to himself. Thor is curled up in a corner of the kitchen, mostly hidden from view by the island, quietly weeping to himself. If Steve were a betting man (and he's fast becoming one, thanks to the company he keeps), he'd bet a solid grand that this is about Loki. _Again_.

"Hey, buddy," he says gently, sliding down to join the thunder god on Stark's kitchen floor. "Is everything okay?"

Thor sniffs, a wet, shuddering sound that draws the other two's attention. "He- he wasn't a _bad_ person," he tells Steve shakily. "Sure, he was genocidal and insane and a murderer but we all go through that phase, right?"

"Um…" Tony hovers just three steps away, his face scrunched up into a frown. "Some of us go through less extreme phases but sure, we all make mistakes as teenagers."

"He was so _young_!" Thor wails at Stark's mention of teenagers, burying his head in his hands.

Clint's brows draw together in confusion. "Wait, aren't you two the same-"

Steve shakes his head at the archer. _Just don't_ , he mouths as he hesitantly reaches out and places a hand on Thor's shoulder.

"He had so much growing up to do, so much room for change! For improvement! Surely in time Father would have banished him to Midgard the way I was, and he would have grown from it the way I did, and he would have been a _good person_ ," Thor insists. "Or maybe he always was a good person. He- he- he _sacrificed himself for me_ ," He tells them all for what must be the twentieth time, choking on a sob as he speaks.

"Yeah, we know," Tony mutters. "You've only told us _three fucking million times_."

"Come, friends," Thor reaches forward clumsily and tugs at Clint's leg, then Tony's. "Come gather by the hearth and relive the tale of Loki the Brave, Loki the Redeemed, Loki _dead on Svartalfheim all by himself all alone by the stars how could I have left him there_ -" His voice grows higher and higher in pitch until it actually hurts Steve's serum-enhanced and mead-sensitive hearing, prompting him to wince as Thor dissolves into full-on sobbing.

"Hey, Thor!" Tony cuts in, leaning down to look his wailing friend in the eye. "Here on Earth we have this way of honoring our loved ones. Maybe that'll help you, huh?"

Clint eyes Tony warily. "Stark, what are you-"

Tony shushes him as he sits down next to Thor, cross-legged and tankard still in hand. "It's called a tattoo. It's a permanent mark on your skin, so that you can carry Loki and his big sacrificial gesture with you always. How does that sound, Point Break? Good idea?"

Thor's sobs die down as he considers Tony's suggestion. "That-" He hiccups as he wipes his tears away with the back of his hand. "That is truly beautiful, friend Stark. A most fitting tribute for my brother the hero," His voice breaks on the last word, and the other three collectively hold their breath for a moment. Thankfully, he doesn't start crying again.

"Steve!" Thor hiccups, whipping his head around so fast the ends of his hair lash at Tony's face. "Is this truly a Midgardian custom? Do you honor your fallen on your skin?"

When his mother died, Steve wanted more than anything to commemorate her somehow, to carry her memory on the body she gave him, the body she fought so hard to keep safe and fed and healthy. Bucky wouldn't let him, of course, came up with some horror story about _that kid down the road who got an infection and I love ya, Steve, but we both know you can't take another infection hey no that wasn't a challenge Steve where do you think you're going-_

"Yeah," He tells Thor, who's staring at him with what he's pretty sure Natasha would call _puppy eyes_. "Yeah, we do that."

"Then it is decided!" Thor jumps up to his feet, nearly knocking Steve and Tony over as he does. He produces a tankard out of nowhere and raises it in a toast. "To Loki!"

After five seconds of silence, he casts bewildered eyes upon the other three and gestures impatiently for them to get up and join his toast. They toast Loki, and then tattoos, and then heroes, and he's pretty sure at some point they all raise a glass to Fury for some reason–

The point is, by the time they're done toasting, even Steve is absolutely sloshed. Which is probably why he doesn't do anything to stop the others when Thor wonders out loud where one goes to obtain a tattoo and Clint volunteers to do it.

Distantly, he hears Clint yelling "BE RIGHT BACK!" and Tony calling after him, "Why the hell do you have a tattoo gun IN MY TOWER, BIRDBOY?!"

Something heavy begins to tug on Steve's eyelids. A voice, one that sounds strangely like Natasha's, tells him he's forgetting something, there's something he should do or say right about now–

But he's already asleep.

.

.

.

The next morning Thor has "LOKI R.I.P" tattooed on his forearm in surprisingly legible penmanship, and Steve remembers exactly why Natasha stays the hell away from them when there's Asgardian mead involved.

* * *

 **Look, guys, I need you all to know that I had no** **intention of writing this fic. Someone showed me a Tumblr post, we joked around a bit about the possible story behind that tattoo, and I came up with a theory so ridiculous-yet-plausible that I just had to write it down. Et voila.**

 **Anyway. With Infinity War coming at us this week, I figured we could use some crack fic.**

 **Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and as always, reviews are wonderful and very much appreciated.**


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